Astra gets diesel-electric power

Monday, January 10, 2005

Vauxhall’s European partner, Opel, has arrived at the Detroit Motor Show with a diesel-electric hybrid version of the forthcoming three-door Astra.

Hybrid engine is a 125bhp 1.7-litre turbodiesel with two electric motors

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Vauxhall’s European partner, Opel, has arrived at the Detroit Motor Show with a diesel-electric hybrid version of the forthcoming three-door Astra.

Although officially described as a concept, the engine is likely to go into production given the commitment of parent company General Motors (GM) to hybrid technology.

‘We decided to use a diesel-powered car as a starting point because in the mid-term we don’t see a demand for petrol-electric hybrids in Europe,’ a spokesman for Vauxhall-Opel said.

The engine is a 125bhp 1.7-litre turbodiesel with two electric motors. This so-called two-mode hybrid system is claimed to overcome what GM sees as one of the main disadvantages of existing hybrids, namely that they soon exhaust their battery power when running at motorway speeds and are then no more efficient than conventional engines.

The electric motors shut down the diesel engine at idle and power the car from rest, and the battery pack is recharged when braking or coasting. Opel claims fuel economy of 70mpg from the system and near-hot hatch performance – 0-62mph in less than 8sec.

GM is working with DaimlerChrysler on shared hybrid technology that could produce petrol- or diesel-electric cars from both groups within three years.